Crossover
I mean...it seemed like a sensible plan at the time. Because we all know blocking things is about sensible plans. Not at all some sort of Martha Stewart / MacGyver crossover act that would really benefit from a dramatic soundtrack and some creative special effects work. Now fess up, what's the weirdest thing you've ever pressed into service for blocking (or knitting in general if that's easier...but I wanna hear about stunt blocking)?
Good Adventure
Tuesday evening I gathered up both my courage and my knitting, left my house, and went to see Anna Zilboorg speak at the Camden Public Library. I almost talked myself out of it, for I am exceptionally good at talking myself out of things at the last minute, especially things that involve leaving the house. But I'd told people I was going and asked them to join me. And I'd sworn to myself that I was going to Get Better About Doing Things. So I put on my big girl pants (aka bright orange sweater) and Did The Thing. And [...]
And done!
There we go, much tidier and with buttons I like much better (they're nicely iridescent in person and pick up a bit of the pink of the sweater, much prettier in real life than in the photos)! The stitches will settle down and disappear even more the next time it's washed. And I'll wear the sweater much more often when I can wear it without constantly feeling like I have to tug and wiggle the front closed. This is something I often do to my cardigans (you can see I did it last year here) and I love it. It [...]
Bit of kit
If you want to make these, you need one special bit of kit, so let's talk about that! The thing that lets these do their magic is called a "flex frame clasp" or sometimes a "flex frame kiss clasp." That's what's in the top of the pouch, and it's what makes it do that magic pinchy pinchy clacky clacky thing (nothing but technical terms here). They come in a bunch of different sizes, and the size of your clasp determines how wide your pouch is (you don't need the same size I have, I'll walk you through how to use [...]
Squeaking noises
I will, in the very near future, show you a wee video of this where I wobble it back and forth and try and say something other than 'ooooooooh, lookit, isn't it cute?!?' I will probably fail. I will probably mostly just make squeaking noises. But really, can you blame me?
General plan
So the general plan is to run the first line of stitching all the way up on the inside. Here it is partly done. And here is how it looks when the whole inside is done. This won't show at all on the outside. Then flip it right side out and run an equivalent line of stitching up the other side of the button band. This can show, just a teeny tiny bit, if you get real real real up close and personal on the stitches (and it will show less once it's been washed a few more times as [...]
Satisfyingly tidy
Oh, oh this is tidy. This is satisfyingly tidy. The kind of tidy that makes me hate the world slightly less than usual. I know I can't be the only one soothed by tidiness, some of you have to be wired this way too. Tell me about something you find satisfyingly tidy so I fee like less of a weirdo!
Neatly aligned
Four widely spaced buttons on a closely fitted sweater are...not enough to keep the button band neatly aligned. Especially if your bust measurement and waist measurement differ significantly. I am...far more generously built than Verity here is. And even on her, the button band does not hang straight. So since I put my sweaters on over my head and don't mind losing the cardigan functionality, I'm going to fix it. I'll start by flipping the sweater inside out and running a line of stitching up one side of the button band. Once it's done, I'll flip it rightside out and [...]
Betrayal
Will this keep my glasses from getting covered in speckles and smudges? No, no it probably won't. But it might make them easier to find. Can everyone else in their 40s and up please reassure me that I am not alone in finding this sudden betrayal (aka the perfectly normal aging process that we all go through if we're lucky enough not to die before we get there) Quite Seriously Annoying? Because god DAMN is the constant 'where are my glasses...no, my OTHER glasses' thing is a drag.
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